【Bazaar】

Starting on BazaarFriday, Aug. 6, at 6:00 p.m. ET, anyone and everyone can log into Fortnite to experience being picked up by Ariana Grande's giant hand while she sings her biggest hits.

After 2020's larger-than-life Travis Scott concert, Fortnite is once again expanding the metaverse with the Ariana Grande Rift Tour. Taking place over three days and five show times, the pop star is transformed into an ethereal, digitized version of herself, taking players through a concert experience unlike any of her in-person events.

One of Ariana's first appearances during the concert. Credit: Epic Games

"Working with Epic and the Fortnite team to bring my music to life inside the game has been so fun and such an honor," Ariana told Epic Games. "I can’t wait to join my fans and see all of your reactions to such an unforgettable, magical journey to new realities."

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Epic recommends that viewers make sure they have the most up-to-date version of the game and log in an hour before the concert starts to explore the Rift world. Once it starts, the show takes players through several world landscapes, letting you ride on rainbows through clouds, climb glowing stairs, and work to shoot down an evil adversary.

While the experience of an in-game concert is entirely different from hearing Ari's impressive vocals IRL, the interactivity of Fortnite's world makes this virtual show a significantly cooler experience than simply logging into a live stream. Even for a Fortnite newbie like myself, the impressive graphics, play elements, and Ari-specific design made for an immersive and genuinely fun virtual concert.

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There's no denying that this Fortnite gamescape is very Ari. Credit: Epic Games

"[My favorite part is] the moment when all the players in Fortnite kind of come together," Phil Rampulla, Head of Brand at Epic Games, told Mashable. "I think that's probably one of the more meaningful moments for our teams to pull off because I think it extends the experience beyond more than gaming. It's an art form that really leans into connection, especially against the backdrop of this past year."

The set list itself is pretty short, opening with songs from Juice WRLD, Sia, Diplo, and others, then segueing into the main event with recognizable Ari hits like "7 Rings," "The Way," and "Positions." If you missed the first show, you can tune in again on Aug. 7 at 2:00 p.m. ET or Aug. 8 at 12:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m. ET.

The Rift Tour follows the immensely successful Astronomical tour from Travis Scott, which pulled in 27.7 million unique players over the five events. Truly an impressive number, Epic Games hopes to top that by enticing both Fortnite-first fans and Ari stans.

"Ultimately, we want Fortniteto be a place that everyone can find something that they're interested in and passionate about. And we have a lot of opportunities and room to grow there," Rampulla told Mashable. "We want to build that world and expand that digital surface area, and hopefully we're bringing in new folks. And the folks who have been with us since day one, [we hope] they're also equally as happy every single time they jump into the world of Fortnite."

Long at forefront of the metaverse discussion, Fortnite is hoping to keep working with entertainers, comedians, writers, or any kind of content creators to keep building out this universe.

"The more we create what I call digital real estate for different opportunities and experiences in this world, the more we increase that scope and scale, the more we will build something closer to the metaverse," said Rampulla. "One of the biggest underpinnings of a real metaverse is that we're not going to be able to do it alone. We need partners like Ariana Grande and partners who are folks that are building content inside creative platforms already in Fortnite right now."

To experience any of the remaining Rift Tour showtimes, players new and old can log on via PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, PC, and Mac.

Topics Fortnite Gaming Celebrities